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Contagious
While I was attending the groundbreaking of The Palisades Iloilo last Saturday, the words of the speaker struck me. It is about healing. She said that we need to say good things about our nation and about our leaders. It is by believing good about people and creating something better could we attain healing.
She was right. Consider a wound. Apply an irritant (hate, prejudice and other negative emotions) on it and it will worsen. Apply treatment (love,care and understanding), it will heal. Treatment does not come easy either. Nursing a wound entails time and patience. One applies just the right medicine and amount until healing takes place.
It reminds me of relationships. The reason why most situations do not work out is because we have failed to "nurse" it well. At times, one wants to do things the easy way in the quest for self satisfaction. There is failure to compromise and understand each other. How often do we hear of people saying they are right while the other is wrong during a misunderstanding? We have failed to consider that perhaps both are right and what's needed is compromise or adjustment.
Once when I was taking a taxi, the driver kept on complaining about so many things and how the flyover project has caused so much traffic. He kept blabbering about how the project is useless and how it has caused him and passengers inconvenience. The taxi reeked of negativity that I just wanted to get out. I made him see that the project's purpose is to eventually ease traffic here and that all we need to do is to make some sacrifices. Why think of the negative aspect of the project when one can look positively forward to the long-term effect that the flyover can bring us?
It's sad to sometimes hear people complain how the government has failed to do its job. The efforts may not be as perfect as we wanted them to be, but I believe our government is doing its best. Yes, it reeks of graft and corruption, but aren't we all a package of bad qualities either, but we always inwardly struggle to do good?
My point is, no healing can take place when we prefer to see the negative side of things. Such negative attitude is contagious and if more people start to believe this, the chain of negativity will be hard to break.
By choosing to look at the positive or special side of situations and people, we become healed, happier, more inspired and more productive. Now, this is a contagion that I'd rather have in my midst.
(E-mail to katvillalon@yahoo.com)